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Jury Asks to Award More Than Requested in Case AZA Joined on Eve of Trial

February 16, 2018

HOUSTON – Federal court jurors asked the judge if they could award a larger amount plus attorneys’ fees to a company represented by AZA lawyers in a breach of contract case.

That remarkable query came in a trial in which attorneys from Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, joined at the last minute, something AZA lawyers are often asked to do. AZA represented PPD Enterprises, LLC, and its owner in a suit over the termination of a medical device distributorship agreement.

AZA partner Joe Ahmad and associates Ryan Hackney and Paul Turkevich tried the case for PPD. “After an hour and a half the jury awarded our client everything she asked for. Before the award they asked Judge Stephen Smith if they could award more than a party asked for, and attorney’s fees on top of that. We could tell they’d been paying attention,” Mr. Hackney said.

PPD signed a contract with Mako Surgical Corp. in 2013 to be the exclusive Houston distributor of Mako’s hip implants for a period of two years. That agreement allowed PPD to sell implants manufactured by Corin as well. But after Mako was bought by Stryker Corp., a large manufacturer of medical devices that was in direct competition with Corin, Stryker improperly terminated PPD’s contract in 2014.

Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, intellectual property, and business dispute cases. AZA is recognized by Chambers USA 2017 among the best in Texas commercial law; by U.S. News – Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for 2018; and previously by Law360 as a Texas Powerhouse law firm. National corporate counsel named AZA one of the country’s best in client service among law firms serving the Fortune 1000.